Breakers 01B Blue won the championship at Breakers Cup 2013. The boys competed in the top, gold division. They tied their first game against Butte United 4-4. in a hard fought battle. They won their second game 4-3 against Mustang Estudiantes. They ended up winning their group, after winning their third game 4-2 against Folsom FSC Spartans. Winning the top spot in their group, put them in the final against Briceno Soccer Victory. The boys won 4-3 in a hard fought final match.

In the U.S. Soccer lexicon, Gooch is typically the shorthanded reference to U.S. Men’s National Team defender and two-time FIFA World Cup veteran Oguchi Onyewu.

But there is another Gooch that U.S. Soccer fans should keep on their radar, and that is U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team forward Lynden Gooch.

“I’ve heard it a few times,” Gooch said of the Onyewu references. “Some of my friends joke with me about it. It’s pretty cool.”

Aside from the surname/nickname similarity, Lynden is the complete opposite of a center back. Like any successful striker, Gooch’s technical ability on the ball has helped him land on the U-18 MNT roster in the 2013 Northern Ireland Milk Cup and a pathway toward his ultimate goal of playing Premier League ball for Sunderland.

“I’m quick and strong on the ball and I like to make goals and score goals,” Gooch said. “As a striker, I love putting the ball in the back of the net.”

The native of Santa Cruz, Calif., said he first started playing soccer “probably when I learned to walk,” and his youth career quickly spread overseas. Gooch first caught Sunderland’s eyes when he was only 10 years old. He had an opportunity to travel with a local team from California and he made an immediate impression.

“I scored a hat trick in my first game, and that pretty much set it off,” Gooch said. “They were impressed and they flew me over twice a year since I was 10 to go and practice, keep tabs on me and see how I was progressing.”

Gooch comes from a family that lives and breathes soccer. His dad is an England native and his mother is from Ireland. Gooch recalls many weekends watching the Premier League on the tube with his father and older brothers.

Now he is hoping to be a direct part of that top-tier playing environment, signing a contract with Sunderland in 2012.

“It’s been my dream since I was a little kid to play in England, with my dad being from there,” Gooch said. “I’ve always watched the Premier League, so it was a big achievement when I signed. It’s a really professional, hard-working environment. Everyone is trying to achieve the same goal, to get into the first team.”

As part of the buildup toward Sunderland, Gooch also played for the Development Academy with the Santa Cruz Breakers, leading the 2010-11 U-15/16 team in scoring and a spot in that season’s Academy Playoffs in Frisco, Texas.

“I liked it – it was a lot of great exposure,” Gooch said of his Academy days. “It was great to be in front of the National Team coaches and college coaches to get more experience. You’re playing with the best players in the country, and it only helped my game.”

Gooch had last played for the U.S. U-15 Boys’ National Team, so to have the opportunity to return for the USA in the Milk Cup has been an exciting moment at this stage of his playing career.

“I’ve wanted to do this since the U-15s, and there’s nothing better than representing your own country,” Gooch said. “I’m just really excited and humbled by it. It’s been a while since I’ve played with these guys and I’m just happy to represent my country again.”

– See more at: http://www.ussoccer.com/news/u-18-mnt/2013/07/u18-mnt-forward-gooch-making-his-name-known.aspx#sthash.lC5erQXY.dpuf

U.S. Soccer Recognizes Development Academy U-15/16 Conference Starting XI Teams for 2012-13 Season

U.S. Soccer announced the 2012-13 Development Academy U-15/16 Starting XI teams for all three conferences on Monday.

IN THE IMAGE: U.S. Soccer named the 2012-13 Development Academy U-15/16 Starting XI teams for all three conferences on Monday.

CHICAGO (July 8, 2013) – U.S. Soccer is handing out its 2012-13 Development Academy End of Year awards this week, and today recognizes the Under-15/16 Academy Starting XI for all three conferences.

The Academy XI incorporates the 11 players among each conference who represent the Academy principles of dedication, effort and integrity. The starting XI includes one goalkeeper, four defenders, three midfielders and three forwards.

Development Academy players and coaches have received postseason recognition since the Academy’s inaugural 2007-08 season, and the End of Year awards are voted upon by U.S. Soccer Technical Advisors.

De Anza Force is the most-represented club with four players on the West Conference XI: defenders Samuel Junqua and David Chavez, midfielder Brian Zelaya and forward Carlos Delgadillo.

In the East Conference XI, the New York Red Bulls and D.C. United each have two representatives. Red Bulls defender Kevin Politz and midfielder Derrick Etienne were honored as they helped New York post the best regular-season record (23-2-3), top defense (only 12 goals allowed in 28 games) and top offense (85 goals), while D.C. United’s duo of defender Steven Gandy and forward Gerson Umaña made the starting XI.

APTOS — The Santa Cruz Breakers U18 and U16 are going to look a little different without seasoned head coach Efrain Burgos running the ship, but the sensational talent hasn’t gone anywhere.

Newcomers Leigh Davies and Marco Santillan will try and fill the void as the U18 and U16 coaches in the upcoming 2013 Santa Cruz Breakers Academy season.

“It’s good that we got a new coach from a different background,” said Andrew Platon, who is one of the returning U18 players. “He’ll bring in a lot of new styles and new information that we’re not used to.”

Davies is originally from England and most recently coached the U16 Real Colorado Academy Team. He has also worked with the Tottenham Academy and Reading FC Academy.

Santillan, a former Atlas player from Mexico, will take over the U16 duties. He has worked with many professional clubs in Mexico including Chivas, Pachuca and still collaborates closely with Atlas today.

And they’ll have some good- size shoes to fill. In his four-year tenure with the Breakers Burgos helped kids reach universities like Stanford, Cal Poly, Vermont and UC Santa Barbra. Two of his players Martin Monroy and Lynden Gooch were able to make it into the professional ranks.

“We feel good about this season,” said Paolo Carbone the technical director of the Breakers Academy.

But even with great coaches you still need talent, and the Breakers have plenty of it. The Academy is a part of the U.S. Development Academy and the Nor Cal Premier League, so they compete against the best teams in the state and nation.

“The experience is awesome,” said Kevin Mendez who was on the U16 team last year as a 14-year old after being a part time developmental player for two years. “The competition is great, the games are intense and it’s just fun overall. Then you get scouted by college and national teams. I really like this experience.”

After both the U16 and U18 teams missed the playoffs last season, players like Platon know what needs to change so that they can extend their 2013 season.

“We didn’t start off as strong as we could. A good start would push us in the right direction, and hopefully towards playoffs.”

Even if they don’t make playoffs, the key for most players is the exposure that the players get with the Academy programs.

“It’s sad to say,” said Mendez, “but most colleges aren’t scouting at the high schools anymore. With the Breakers I was playing against older kids and developing my skills and getting great training here. You just can’t beat this.”

Leigh Davies (England) and Marco Santillan (Mexico) are the new head coaches for the 2013/14 season

The Santa Cruz Breakers Academy is proud to announce the appointment of two new head coaches for the 2013/14 season.
Originally from England, Leigh Davies will be the head coach for the U18 Santa Cruz Breakers Academy. Leigh holds a UEFA “A” License and most recently coached the U16 Real Colorado Academy Team and PDL Team. In his past experiences, Davies also worked for the Tottenham Academy and Reading FC Academy as well as the English FA. Davies brings to the program a very high level of professionalism and experience that is necessary to coach at this level. Davies will also be involved as an assistant coach with the U14 Academy Team and he will be directing a new training program for the Academy, the Santa Cruz Breakers Academy Center of Excellence. A more detailed announcement will be made soon.

The Santa Cruz Breakers Academy is also proud to announce the selection of Marco Santillan, a former Atlas player from Mexico, to be the Head Coach for the U16 Santa Cruz Breakers Academy Team. Marco will also be involved as an assistant coach with the U18 and U12 age groups. Marco has been involved in the Bay Area for many years and he brings a high level of international experience to the program. Marco has collaborated with several professional clubs in Mexico such as Chivas and Pachuca, and to these days he still collaborates closely with Atlas. Marco has also attended International coaching seminars with the Mexican Football Federation, visited Real Madrid and FC Barcelona Academies, the KNVB (Dutch Federation) and the ATFA (Argentinian Federation) for professional development purposes. In addition, Santillan worked as a clinician at the NSCAA Convention in Philadelphia and in Kansas City in 2010 and 2012. The NSCAA is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world. Santillan is also the NSCAA California State Director for Spanish courses.

The Santa Cruz Breakers Academy will hold ID clinics/Tryouts for the U16 and U18 Academy Teams for the 2013/14 season at Cabrillo College Stadium on June 29th and June 30th. Players born in 1995 and 1996 are eligible to participate at the U18 level. Players born in 1997 and 1998 are eligible for the U16 age group. For more information about the Academy you can visit our website at www.breakersacademy.org. If you are interested in participating in the program, contact Academy Coaching Director Paolo Carbone by email at cpaolo5@hotmail.com or by phone at (408) 202-7206

D1&D2 College Soccer Recruiting Camp for Girls July 15th, 1pm-4pm at Cabrillo College (Aptos, CA)

Colleges in attendance:
UC Berkeley
UC Santa Cruz
Sonoma State University
San Jose State Univ.
Cal State East Bay
Fresno State Univ.

The College Soccer Academy is proud to present an elite camp for 8th – 12th Grade Female Soccer Players. You will be coached and observed by a number of the finest college coaches in California. You will have the opportunity to be assessed in scrimmages as well as technical training sessions. One of the 4 stations educates players on the NCAA recruiting world, and how to maximize your opportunities (including communication tips, email correspondence and resumes). It will also include sport psych advice for College Soccer

U16 (Players Born in 1997&1998) 10am to Noon
U18 (Players Born in 1996&1995) Noon to 2:00pm

The Santa Cruz Breakers Academy is excited to announce the Identification Clinic/ Tryouts for the U16 and U18 teams participating in the 2013/14 U.S. Soccer Development Academy program.

The club is building a roster of about 20 full time committed players including 2 GKs to train at a high level on a regular basis year-round in a professional environment with qualified and experienced coaches. Very motivated and talented GK’s born in 1996 and 1995 are strongly encouraged to participate. All coaches have extensive experience and hold the USSF National “A” coaching license or equivalent. Both Academy teams will compete in the USDA program and will play in a 10-month season (September 2013 – June 2014), which maximizes training, competitive matches and includes two showcases/playoffs for the year. Even though our players come mainly from Santa Cruz County, we also have players from Monterey County and Santa Clara County on our roster. Very motivated and talented GK’s born in 1996 and 1995 are strongly encouraged to participate.

Our program is a partially-funded program and financial aid is available. The club makes every effort to reduce the cost for players to participate in this valuable program. The Santa Cruz Breakers Academy Teams will start the pre-season beginning July 29 at Cabrillo College.

As he moves on to new endeavors, the Santa Cruz Breakers Academy would like to thank Efrain Burgos for the many years of work that he has done with our players. He has been within the club for 4 years and has helped many players reach their goal of playing college soccer. Under his leadership, players have been recruited by top schools from all over the country. Players have committed to play for Stanford, UC Santa Barbara, Cal Poly, Long Island University, Vermont University to list just a few. Efrain also coached players that went into the professional ranks like Martin Monroy (Tigres, Mexico) and Lynden Gooch (Sunderland, England).

Throughout the years, Efrain has shown commitment to the players, professionalism to the Academy environment and a great deal of passion for the game of soccer. Efrain has accepted a new position with the Juventus Soccer Club (USSF Academy) as a Technical Director effective immediately. The Santa Cruz Breakers Academy wishes him good luck in his new endeavors. In the meantime, Mike Runeare will act as interim Head Coach until the Academy Showcase in June. The club will announce the new Academy coaching staff for the 2013/14 season as soon as the selection is made.

On Sunday, January 20th, the SCC Breakers 01B White won the 2013 Northern California Championship in Turlock. The State Cup Championship tournament began in September with 160 U11 teams competing in the preliminary round. By January, the Breakers were 4-0 in State Cup matches, and they traveled to Turlock on January 11th to finish the second round of competition. After finishing the second round, their record was 6-0, and the team advanced to the elimination round where they went 3-0, defeating Santa Clara Sporting Black in the final 5-4 to claim the title. The Breakers outscored opponents 38-12. Prior to winning the state title, the team finished atop their fall league, the top division in CYSA for district 2, in November.